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“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 2/1/17)

Battle Of The Jays

– With Wrestle Kingdom 11 on the back burner (though it aired on Jan. 4 and they’re just giving us the Ring Of Honor followup now), we had a new ROH World Champion and his name was Adam Cole… bay bay. The opening video looked back at Cole’s match with Kyle O’Reilly at WK11 and had him cut a promo over match footage about how “he” effectively concluded the story. Finally, some updated stuff. We were spinning our wheels there.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 1/5/17)

New Year’s Dash 2017

– The Six-Man Tag between Kyle O’Reilly/Ricochet/David Finlay and Jushin “Thunder” Liger/Tiger Mask/Henare set New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s version of “Raw After Mania” off to a hot start. The commentary team of Kevin Kelly/Steve Corino superbly painted storyline pictures to mix with the action. Here, they relied upon the fact that O’Reilly/Ricochet/Finlay were all losers at Wrestle Kingdom 11 (which included six Title changes, mind you) and looked to bounce back. Given the caliber of talent involved, it was expected that the action would be quick. Ricochet and Liger had a cool exchange, even if Ricochet slipped up in the corner. Commentary hyped up Henare and put him over as a young lion that had the privilege to train with two legends like Liger/TM. In many ways, that’d build someone’s career and it was smart of them to point that out. Liger’s tilt-a-whirl backbreaker on O’Reilly looked downright cruel. Another fun spot was where Henare had the Boston Crab locked in on Finlay and didn’t let go, even when subjected to Ricochet’s fierce kicks. The highlight of everything was the triple submission spot, as it wasn’t long before Finlay secured the pin for his team. All in all, it set out what it meant to – let O’Reilly/Ricochet/Finlay get back on track and Henare’s in-ring abilities were a focus. The post-match sportsmanship was nice, even with the added detail that cameras followed Finlay as he went to embrace his mom up in the crowd. Awwww.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 12/21/16)

An Honored Champion

– The opening video recapped Final Battle 2016, so an immediate sigh of relief came about, since this promised new television that wasn’t a glorified repeat. The package played up the event’s biggest occurrence (no, not Broken Matt Hardy’s onscreen appearance) in Kyle O’Reilly’s big victory as he defeated Adam Cole to win the ROH World Championship. After all, the guy did it as he laid in thumbtacks. That has to be a first somewhere.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 11/30/16)

Final Words

– The Lio Rush-Jonathan Gresham match was random, but could’ve been used as Final Battle hype anyway, since Rush would be on one of the teams in the Finals of the Six-Man Championship Tournament to take place there. Sadly, that was never mentioned on commentary (with even Alex Shelley on the call) as instead, they let the two guys simply wrestle a great match and follow it up with an angle where The Motor City Machine Guns looked to “form the brigade” as a way to combat Bullet Club’s ruthless ways. Gresham and Rush exchanged exceptional chain wrestling, with collar-and-elbow tie-ups and headscissor takedowns galore. Admittedly, some of it came off more choreographed than organic, but we appreciated the effort. Gresham also hit a memorable second rope moonsault to the floor, albeit Rush barely covered him on the fall. Some good near-falls down the stretch, as Rush went on to hit a total of three Rush Hours and a Rushing Elbow to get the win. It was enough for us to be interested if they were to fight again. Shelley was also pretty good on commentary, though nothing overly memorable. Certainly no Austin Aries. The post-match promo segment saw MCMG put over Rush/Gresham as the future. Obviously, this must mean that Rush/Gresham could be potential recruits for this “Honor Brigade.”

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 11/23/16)

Nard And Feathered

– The Silas Young-Kyle O’Reilly match was a good time for both to face each other as Final Battle looms. O’Reilly was penciled in as the definite challenger for whomever was ROH World Champion by then, given the winner between ROH World Champion Adam Cole and Jay Lethal. We also appreciated the effort to put Young over as someone in primed position to one day be atop the card, evidenced by how close he came to beating Cole on Sep. 22 for the Title. Sort of a slow bout to start, with basic chain/technical wrestling with a couple of standoffs. Expected in the “feeling out” process. Young got some momentum as he threw O’Reilly aggressively into the barricades. O’Reilly was put over by commentary for his keen predator-esque mindset that focused on the target of different body parts in a match. They traded stiff forearms as Cole came down to join commentary to badmouth Cole as a coward. Young kicked out of a power maneuver, which prompted O’Reilly to lock in his armbar. Young escaped and nearly hit Misery, but ended up in the Brainbuster to lose the match. A fine match with an added emphasis to showcase Young’s toughness (he didn’t tap out) and keep O’Reilly hot. Young’s post-match promo used his great ability to pick on the fans as a device to hype his FB encounter with Jushin “Thunder” Liger. A fan in a Liger outfit made it all possible. That said, we would’ve had a mention of the Young-Liger match much sooner than after this bout.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 11/16/16)

Good Ribbing

– The opening video highlighted the big ROH World Television Championship main event to take place between Hangman Page and Champion Bobby Fish. We saw a separate promo clash where Page took pride in his attack on Fish’s ribs and looked for the final key in Bullet Club to have all of the ROH gold. Fish wasn’t intimidated and eager to show Page that he simply was on another level. They did a good job with this match build, as this was one of the better storylines.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 10/26/16)

(Un)Broken Spirits

– With the team of Colt Cabana/Dalton Castle still fresh on the tag scene, they needed wins to score some credibility. With a shot at the ROH World Tag Team Championships at a Baltimore live event soon to come, this was a golden chance to keep the babyface team hot and they shelled out some new talent from New Japan Pro Wrestling in The Tempura Boys to do the process. While it felt like commentary spoke too much about TB and how they wanted to be known by only their first names, the actions of Cabana/Castle were enough to tell the right story. A smart mix of comedy, fast-action and great double-team moves, Cabana/Castle easily got past TB when Castle hit the Bangarang to score the pin.

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 10/19/16)

A Vow For Control

– The opening video logically showed highlights of Ring Of Honor’s biggest occurrence in the year’s second half – Ladder War VI from All Star Extravaganza, as The Young Bucks overcame The Addiction and The Motor City Machine Guns to become the new ROH World Tag Team Champions.